But you want to know if The Constant Gardener is as good as Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. Very nearly. Africa's nightmare is more complex than the cold war chess match, and the world pharmaceutical circus is tougher to dramatize than the old spy-versus-spy-versus-spymaster game. Still, le Carré can write a smart, melancholy page-turner, and his moral outrage (the real subject of his books) burns as brightly as ever. --Tim Appelo

Reader Reviews
LeCarre Sucks You In, September 27, 2003
Reviewer:
earlrandy
from RTP United States
It's amazing how LeCarre quietly sucks you into a story. His books often seem overlong and glacially paced, yet somehow, but the last quarter of a novel, I find I can't put his books down. The Constant Gardener is no different. There are so many things LeCarre does well in this novel. First off, the characters are thouroughly fleshed out individuals. Next is the variety of locales; you feel like you've been to Kenya, London, Italy, and Canada, as the novel swings around the globe. This time around, the plot isn't as strong and driving as in previous novels, but LeCarre makes up for it with strong characterization in the leads. One place the book fails is in the villains. I found they came off a bit hokey and sometimes generic. But it was easy to overlook that and other minor failings because the novel is otherwise expertly written. If you read this novel, I suggest you also try "The Billion Dollar Molecule". TBDM is a great work of non-fiction relating the trials and potential riches of drug developement. This is a nice bookend for "The Constant Gardener"